Three notable eateries have announced plans to open locations in Springfield.
Wichita, Kan.-based Freddy’s Frozen Custard will be the fourth tenant for the James River Commons shopping center. The restaurant and custard shop will go toe-to-toe with longtime Springfield cold-treat peddler Andy’s Frozen Custard, which has a store across the street at 4420 S. Campbell Ave. The center’s other tenants are Sam’s Club, Academy Sports & Outdoors and Walmart Neighborhood Market scheduled to open in late October.
Lorton, Va.-based fast-casual hamburger and sandwich franchise Five Guys Burgers and Fries is joining the local restaurant scene at the direction of franchisee Jeff Offutt.
Offutt, who operates more than 40 Subway restaurants in Missouri, signed leases in late 2011 with Curtis Jared of Jared Enterprises to occupy nearly 3,000 square feet at 2711 N. Kansas Expressway – the former cinema space at Town and Country Shopping Center – and Simon Properties’ Battlefield Mall, where he’ll open in the outdoor lifestyle center near HuHot Mongolian Grill.
Jared also is facilitating a Springfield return for the Popeyes restaurant chain at 1710 S. Glenstone Ave. The site had been home to a Purple Burrito location, which was demolished to make room for a roughly 2,400-square-foot restaurant built for Fayetteville, Ark.-based Smitco Eateries Inc. Smitco operates five Popeyes Chicken franchises in Arkansas.
Freddy’s Frozen CustardFreddy’s Frozen Custard franchisee Jamie Rheem of Branson-based 3 Pointe Restaurant Group LLC, which opened a Branson store in 2010, said he selected the James River Commons location because he has a strategy to grow into new areas. Rheem said he feels south Springfield is growing, as are Nixa and Ozark, where he is currently looking at site options.
“We feel like that demographic really fits us well,” Rheem said.
Noting the proximity to Andy’s Frozen Custard was a nonfactor in his site selection, Rheem said less than 20 percent of Freddy’s sales come from custard. The majority of orders are steak burgers and all-beef Vienna hot dogs. “The custard really just complements all of our food,” Rheem said.
Rheem, who would not disclose the purchase price of the 1.7-acre site or the cost of construction, said combos typically range from $6 to $7. Branson-based Cornerstone Building Services LLC is the general contractor for the 4,150-square-foot restaurant, which Rheem said he expects to be complete by the end of August. Rheem broke ground on the property in mid-May.
Five GuysFive Guys franchisee Offutt said the Battlefield Mall spot should be up and running in late August, and the Town and Country site is expected to open in late September. He said infill construction has been delayed by around three months due to coordination between Five Guys’ contractors in Atlanta and Springfield’s Building and Development Services Department.
Offutt, who has signed long-term leases in both locations, said he has spent roughly $500,000 setting up shop in Springfield. He declined to provide lease rates. He said he turned to Five Guys as a new franchise opportunity after he tried its food.
“About two-and-a-half years ago, I came across Five Guys and I just fell in love with it instantly,” Offutt said. “It is a simple concept, and they execute it very well.”
According to FiveGuys.com, the restaurant chain opened in the Washington, D.C., area in 1986 and features a trans-fat free menu with burgers, hot dogs, three sandwich options and peanut oil-fried french fries.
Offutt owns Columbia-based Mid-Mo Burgers LLC, which operates two Columbia locations, both of which have been open about a year. Offutt said he agreed to terms on a lease in Joplin three days before the 2011 EF-5 tornado put plans there on hold. He said he currently is scouting locations in Joplin and looking for a third site in the Springfield area. But he said he’s picky; it took more than a year for him to select the two spots he has in town.
“Battlefield Mall is the shopping Mecca there in Springfield, and I don’t think it gets more dense in terms of traffic,” Offutt said, noting the north-side complement of the North Kansas Expressway site. “That is just one big, giant retail area.”
Popeyes Louisiana KitchenConstruction on Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is wrapping up, and according to Jared, Smitco President Brian Smith already is looking for a possible second site in town.
Smith said in February the South Glenstone Popeyes was Smitco’s first in Missouri, and he was not affiliated with other Popeyes that had operated in Springfield. Smitco’s five Popeyes restaurants in Arkansas are located in Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Rogers, Springdale and Van Buren.
According to
Popeyes.com, the Cajun chicken restaurant started in Arabi, La., in 1972, and today operates more than 1,000 locations worldwide.
Jared said Purple Burrito agreed to relocate to another Jared Enterprises property at 3459 W. Kearney St., Ste. F, but he declined to discuss terms of the deal.[[In-content Ad]]
